Love that is hunted
by kellyQ
Summary: *Revised* Kai, a village protector, looks for the power of Dranzer - but he gets more than he can handle when he meets Dranzer's mate ... Kai/Tyson and other couples. *Updated!*
1. Chapter 1

Love that is hunted

Chapter one

By KellyQ

The bartender looked up from what he was doing, and stopped rubbing the glass to see a young man walking toward him. He had dark blue slanted eyes, gray and midnight-blue hair, and triangle shaped painted blue on either side of his cheeks. His clothes was gray and black, including a white scarf around his neck.

"How may I help you?"

"A glass of water," he said sitting down. "And the directions to the old forest."

"You're going there?" came a voice.

The young man turned his head slightly to see a young boy a little younger than he, thus he had bushy red hair and his white clothing was really no different.

"If you're going to hunt in the great forest, I should warn you that many people tried, but they would come back saying that it's haunted - are you listening to me?" The boy asked, noticing that the new customer had tuned him out.

"You should listen to him," came another voice, causing the boy to turn again to see another boy sitting next to the red hair boy. He had black hair that was pulled back, yellow-cat like eyes, and gadget teeth. He went by the name of Rei. "The spirit may look innocent, but he's the most deadliest thing ..."

"How do you know all this - Have you seen it?" The teen asked rudely.

"Yes we have." the blonde boy who was sitting next to the dark-haired boy put a hand on his shoulder. "That's why Rei looks the way he does - you might get cursed too - if you try to do anything that will threaten it."

The blonde boy paused, noticing that the grayish- midnight-haired boy had stopped paying attention what he was saying. Why wasn't he taking their warning in consideration? The spirit of the forest was not to be taken likely.

"If you're still willing to go there," the bartender said with a sigh. "Take the road to the East, and it should lead you there ..."

The boy nodded his head as he put money on the table got up, and walked out when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kai stopped and turned his head, and his eyes met with cold yellow eyes.

"If you go in there, you'll never come back the same again!" Rei exclaimed.

Kai's eyes flashed dangerously. He took hold of Rei's hand and brushed it off, warning him not to touch him.

"Great," the blonde sighed, watching Kai walk out of the bar. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Keep an eye on him," Rei said sternly.

* * *

_What type of fool did they take me for_, the teen thought with a sneer. He wasn't a kid who needed to be babysat.

"Hey, wait!" a voice called out to him.

Kai stopped, and closed his eyes. He opened them again and turned around, looking very annoyed. _When will these kids stop following me around_?

"Since you have no interest in the spirit of the forest, what is it that you're really after?" the red-haired boy said.

"The power called ... _Dranzer_."

"You can't be serious ..." the red-haired boy paled.

"I'm dead serious. Now out of my way."

Rei gave one last hard look before giving his final choice. "We're still coming with you - you don't know where you're going ..."

"Oh, and I suppose you guys do?" the cold boy said in a mocking manor. Rei and Kai glared at each other, but Rei won. "Okay, whatever - just stay out of my way."

"That's great," the blonde cheered. "I'm Max, this is Kenny, and Rei. You are ..."

"Kai," he said simply.

To Be Continued ...


	2. Chapter 2

Love That is Hunted

Chapter Two

By KellyQ

Dragoon moved around trees the branches swayed behind him. Some of the animals moved out of his way, as his movements caused the whole area to shake. The blue dragon was trying to get away from the hunters. Turning swiftly, Dragoon was about to use his storm attack, when he felt something sharp driven into his chest.

Dragoon let out a painful roar, as his body was thrown back. He landed right into a river with a large splash. At that exact moment, his body shimmered, and changed into what looked like a twelve-year-old boy. He floated down the river, the arrow still stuck in his chest. Some of the birds hovered as the waves carried him downstream.

"Did you see that," Ian said excitedly. "We finally got the spirit of the forest!"

"Are you sure that's the right one," Tala asked. He shook his head. "You know that the spirit can change ..."

"Yes I know," Ian sighed in annoyance. "And I know it was the spirit."

"Well then. Let's go."

"This way. I saw it fall into the river."

* * *

Kai, Rei, Kenny, and Max came to the river. Kai didn't want to stop and rest, but Rei talked him into it. After standing for a few moments, Kai walked to the rim of the lake. He took his water carrier and started to refill it when he noticed something in the water.

Pulling his water pitcher out, he stared at what like blood that shimmered like glitter. His eyes followed it to a figure floating in the water. Kai took off running into the water. He could see that it was a boy about 12 years of age, midnight hair, and a chubby like face. He was wearing a white shirt, and light blue fluffy pants. Moving closer, Kai winced when he saw an arrow in the boy's chest.

"What do you see, Kai?" Max called out.

Rei tried to look over Kai's shoulder from shore in hopes of seeing what Kai was looking at. As he did, Rei's cat like eyes looked at the trail of glider. Rei bent down to lap up the glider with his finger, and ran it through his fingers.

"What is it?" Max asked, walking up see his friend's eyes cloud over.

Rei was about to say something, when movement in front of him caused him to look up to see Kai carrying the unconscious wounded boy out of the water. He laid him on the soft grass. Everyone gasped - not because of the arrow in the boys chest - the ground around the boy turned gray, and the grass started to blacken and wither.

"We have to get it out of him right away!" Kenny panicked.

As if on cue, Rei and Max held the unconscious boy down, as Kenny bent down to pull the arrow out. The boy did cry out in pain, but no sound came out of his throat. His painful expression caused Kai, and the others to wince as the wounded boy fell unconscious again. Kai walked to where the arrow had been thrown. He bent down and took the arrow. He look closely at it. It was not an ordinary arrow.

"Can I see that?" Kenny asked. He was now standing in front of Kai, trying to study the arrow too.

Saying nothing, the taller boy handed it over. The bushy redhead looked closely at it. Max got up and stepped up beside this old friend.

"What do you make of it, Kenny?"

"This arrow is loaded with poison: see," the boy said, pointing at the tip of the arrow. Red liquid was dripping from the end of it.

Kai's expression changed to pure hate and disgust. Yanking the poisoned arrow out of Kenny's hand, Kai rose is knee and slammed the weak point of arrow snapping it in two.

"Those fucken' bastards," Kai hissed. "They're just determined to make sure that I don't succeed in my mission just so that they can humiliate me in front of my grandfather - well I'm not going to let it happen!"

"What are you talking about?" Max asked in a serious tone.

"Ian and his gang of _Demolition Boys_ ..."

* * *

"Are you sure that this is where he landed?" Tala asked with a sigh.

The Demolition boys were at the riverbank in hopes of having Dragoon down for the count.

"Yes. I'm sure." Ian said.

"He went that way!" Boris said, seeing a trail of what looked like glider.

"Good. Now let's get going before Kai knows what is really going on, and tries to stop us," Tala said taking off running along the riverbank.

To Be Continued ...


	3. Chapter 3

Love That is Hunted

Chapter Three

By KellyQ

"We need to get him to higher ground," Kenny said quickly.

"Right," Rei said. He picked the unconscious boy in his arms as he looked as though he was groaning in pain.

"No. I'll carry him," Kai said.

Rei shrugged. He wasn't going to argue with Kai. He walked up and placed the unconscious boy in his arms. Kai looked down at the boy in his arms: so innocent, pale, and in so much pain. _I'll make sure the Demolition Boys get what they deserve!_ Kai noticed that the boy in his arms was starting to regain consciousness. Blue eyes met dark ocean blue eyes. The boy tried to shift under Kai's grip, showing nothing but fear in his eyes. His body started to shake.

"Now, calm down," Kai said trying to tighten his grip. He didn't wanting to hurt the wounded boy in his arms. "We're not going to hurt you. We're trying to help you." The boy sank further into Kai's arms, slowly drifting into darkness.

* * *

Tala's feet stopped in front of a white piece of cloth. He picked it up and looked at it. Kai, he thought with a slight hiss, he's going to ruin everything! "We'd better been keeping moving."

"Yea. I see footsteps leading that way," Ian reported.

A dark smirk made it self known on the red-haired man's lips. _It won't be long before Dranzer comes out ... and when he does - he'll be ours,_ Tala thought darkly.

* * *

The midnight-haired boy slowly opened his eyes. He felt really weak, and something sticky was on his chest. At first, he wondered where he was - then memories came back to him. Arrow. Men chasing him. People helping him. He slowly turned his head to the kids who have saved him.

"How are you feeling?" The red-haired kid asked.

The midnight haired boy rose his shaky hand to his throat. This action caused Kai to frown. Could he be mute?

"What - you can't speak?" The gray midnight haired boy asked rudely. The midnight haired boy shook his head.

" ... But are you alright?" Kenny asked again. The midnight haired boy nodded his head. Kenny smiled, but it faded when the wounded boy tried to sit up. "Whoa," he shouted. "You shouldn't even move, you've been poisoned!"

The wounded boy looked down at his bare chest. The wound on his chest was covered with yellow substance. The midnight-haired boy smiled and nodded his head looking thankful.

"Your welcome," the red haired boy blushed, scratching the back of his head. "But it was mostly Kai who did all the work. You should take it easy, you're still weak, and we couldn't get all the poison out of your body."

The midnight haired boy closed his eyes. _This is all my fault_, he thought. _Now the forest is going to die ... I have to get to the heart of the forest ..._

"Come on," Kai said, snapping the midnight-haired teen out of his thoughts. Kai walked up, and bent down to pick up the wounded boy in his arms. The boy blushed slightly. "We'd better keep going ..."

The dark-haired boy rose his shaky hand to the right. The others looked where he was pointing.

"You want us to go that way?" the red-haired boy asked, looking where the boy was pointing.

Tyson nodded his head, and snuggled slightly into Kai's arms. Why did he suddenly feel safe?

Kenny smiled. "It looks like we'll have to wait for Dranzer ..."

The mute boy looked at Kai long and hard. _Dranzer wont have to look no more ... he has come ... I've got to stay a wake - feel so weak ..._before he could think of anything else Tyson fell unconscious .. again.

"Oh!" Max, and Rei, panicked.

"He's just weak," Kai informed. "Now we should get going and not waste any more time."

* * *

The fog laid heavily around the forest ground as the travelers walked thicker into the forest. The animals lead them and others followed. Some of the birds perched themselves on a limb, tilting their heads in confusion or slight sadness. The travelers stayed alert though, just in case.

It wasn't long before they came to a small pond. Kai looked at it for a moment, and studied it. The color of the pond was a slightly different color than any other. Most of the animals moved out of the way. Kai looked at the lake in confusion. One of the birds fluttered its wings and flew to the water. It swooped down and touched the water with its wing. Gliding back, the bird landed in front of Kai, chirping and fluttering its wings.

"I think it wants you to carry the boy into the pond," Kenny said.

Kai looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms. He looked really flushed, and his breathing pattern was not right. Nodding his head, Kai stepped into the water and walked until the water was to his chest, and the wounded boy's body was all the way into the water.

After standing there for a few moments, nothing happened. Kai started to become worried. He looked back at the animals and glared at them. "You said for me to put him in, and I did," he said. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Hand him over to us," came a familiar voice.

To Be Continued ...


	4. Chapter 4

Love That is Hunted

Chapter Four

By KellyQ

After standing there for a few moments, nothing happened. Kai started to become worried. He looked back at the animals and glared at them. "You said for me to put him in, and I did," he said. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Hand him over to us," came a voice.

Kai looked up to see the Demolition Boys. They were pointing their arrows at Rei, Kenny, and Max. Even though fear gripped Kai's heart, he remained calm.

"Kai, don't just stand there, get _him_ out of here!" Rei ordered.

Nodding his head, Kai started to run down the river, not even looking back.

* * *

Tyson opened his eyes feeling a slight chill run through his body, wondering why his clothes were wet. Looking around, he noticed that he was at the heart of the forest, but a little to far from the lake. Tyson looked up at Kai, and smiled. He was about to snuggle back down again when his stomach rumbled.

"I know you're hungry," Kai said. "But we can't stop now. Not until we find a spot to hide for a little while."

The boy nodded his head and pointed too the left. Kai looked to where the boy was pointing at. A huge cave was not to far off. Nodding his head, Kai took off running in the direction.

* * *

After Kai had run down the river, Rei looked back at Max with a knowing look on his face. The blonde-haired boy knew what had to be done.

"Kenny, go to find Kai and make sure that Tyson gets proper care!"

The red haired boy nodded his head, and took off in the direction Kai had gone. Tala growled and started to run after Kenny. He only got so far when Rei landed right in front of him. They both had a stare down.

After a moment, Tala growled again. "Get out of my way." the last part came to a hiss.

"We won't let you hurt our friend!" Rei hissed back. "Besides ... the power of Dranzer doesn't belong to you!"

"We'll just see about that ..." Tala smirked.

* * *

The cave itself was large and damp. Drips of water echoed in the darkness. Sitting down, Kai placed the boy down on his lap, and reached behind for his bag. He grabbed out what looked like a piece of fruit, and handed it to the boy. Tyson lost the grasp and it slipped out of his hands. The boy tried to pick it up but his hands were shaking so much, he dropped it again. With a sigh, Kai took the fruit and started to feed the boy.

After a moment, the boy put his hand on his throat. Kai to frowned for moment watching the boy shape his hands into a cup.

"You're thirsty, is that it?"

The boy nodded his head. Kai tilted his body to the left, pulling out his water carrier. He brought it to the boy's lips. Sitting him up a little, Kai tipped the water carrier a little so the boy could drink. Once Kai moved the water carrier out of the way, a bit of water came down the boy's face. Taking the end of his scarf, Kai wiped the boy's face off. The two boy stared at each other in the eyes.

Kai was the first to look away, not even realizing that he was blushing slightly. Clearing his throat Kai looked back at the boy to see that he was sleeping. Kai to smile when he noticed something shiny around the boy's wrist. A sound came from the back of Kai's throat. He lifted the boy's right arm to notice that it was an over size bracelet with the word _**'Tyson'**_ engraved into it.

"So, your name is Tyson." He continued looking softly at the boy, feeling the need to protect him. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen you."

As if Tyson heard Kai, he snuggled closer to the taller boy. Kai continued to stare at the boy and for the first time, his expression softened to kindness and love. Where did that come from? He hardly knew this person, and already he was starting to feel something for Tyson.

From outside the cave, Kenny watched with a smile. He had to admit that the scene before him was cute.

"I know you're there," Kai said, snapping Kenny out of t his thought. "You might as well come out."

The red-haired boy laughed nervously. He walked into the cave and joined the two on the floor.  
"Where are the others?"

"Don't worry about them," Kenny smiled. "They're just making sure to stall those boys long enough for him to recover."

Kai blinked a few times. "Why would they ..." His voice trailed off when he watched Kenny closely. Realization sank in. Kai looked down at the boy in his arms.

Kenny nodded his head. "Max and Rei are Dragoon's protectors ..."

_So, they were telling the truth ..._ Kai thought.

_**The young man turned his head slightly to see a young boy a little younger than he, thus he had bushy red hair and his white clothing was really no different.**_

_**"If you're going to hunt in the great forest, I should warn you that many people tried, but they would come back saying that it's haunted - are you listening to me?" The boy asked, noticing that the new customer had tuned him out.**_

_**"You should listen to him," came another voice, causing the boy to turn again to see another boy sitting next to the red hair boy. He had black hair that was pulled back, yellow-cat like eyes, and jagged teeth. He went by the name of Rei. "The spirit may look innocent, but he's the most deadliest thing ..."**_

_**"How do you know all this - Have you seen it?" The teen asked rudely.**_

_**"Yes we have." the blonde-haired boy who was sitting next to the dark-haired boy put a hand on his shoulder. "That's why Rei looks the way he does - you might get cursed too - if you try to do anything that will threaten it."**_

"You're lucky," Kenny said, snapping the boy out of his thoughts. "It's not often that Dragoon allows people close ..." his voice trailed off when he noticed that something wasn't right. "Uh ... Kai ... are you alright?"

"I ... I understand now," Kai breathed. He looked down at Tyson. Everything made sense now. The only thing now was to get Dranzer as soon as possible so he could protect Tyson.

To Be Continued ...


End file.
